WWII Rolex Tudor Service Watch

My friend John has been telling me about his dad’s Rolex service watch for a while now and I finally got over to see it last Saturday. He also graciously allowed me to take some pictures of it.

It sure is a beauty! It’s a Canadian Rolex for sure. The story is that his father was under-aged when he enlisted in 1939. the army discovered this and kicked him out. When he reached his majority, he signed up again and bought this watch. It is engraved on the back with his name and serial number. These watches were not military issue, but were sold to soldiers headed who were headed overseas.

It’s in pretty amazing shape. While the radium lume has faded, John remembers that when he was little, his dad demonstrated how it glowed in the dark. The blued hour and minute hands and red sub seconds hand look like they were painted yesterday!

It’s pretty rare to see a dial that’s signed both Rolex and Tudor, but I’ve seen this combo before with other WWII-era timepieces.The best part, is of course, the history.